Most of pop music's stories follow pretty much the same arc, but precious few involve a girl and her ukulele, armed with, as The New York Times put it, "a MySpace page and a dream." That's exactly how the first chapter in Ingrid Michaelson's tale began -- and as the saga has unfolded over the past two years, it's proven to be packed with surprises at every turn.

Michaelson has touched a chord with countless listeners since the 2006 release of her debut album, Girls and Boys, which spawned several sonic appearances on the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy -- not to mention the ubiquitous, instantly appealing hit "The Way I Am," which topped radio charts from coast to coast and racked up nearly a million downloads along the way, thanks in part to its appearance in an Old Navy ad campaign that introduced the song to TV viewers across North America. That's no mean feat for a disc that Michaelson released on her own Cabin 24 label rather than going the traditional major-label route - making its success one of the most intriguing grass-roots stories of recent years.

Be OK, likewise issued on Cabin 24, kicks off the next episode in the singer-songwriter's saga with typically adventurous attitude and -- even more importantly -- memorable tunes to spare. Michaelson is quick to point out that the disc, which combines covers, live songs and a passel of new songs, is something of an appetizer designed to satiate listeners between meals.

"I wanted to put something out as a gift to my fans," says the 28-year-old native of Staten Island, New York. "I still feel funny saying the word 'fans,' but people who've responded really strongly to my music know a lot of these songs because they've heard me play them live. A lot of people have said they really wanted to be able to have them to listen to, and I wanted to give them that."

Michaelson, who played those songs to her own audiences as well as on opening stints with Dave Matthews Band and Jason Mraz, isn't merely talking the talk when it comes to that spirit of giving -- a tenor that imbues virtually every groove of the 11-song disc. She's opted to donate a portion of the proceeds from its sale to Stand Up To Cancer, a group that's already used the title track on its website, where tens of thousands of visitors have been uplifted by its message.

"I met two of the women at Stand Up To Cancer and they were looking for songs," Michaelson says of her involvement with the organization. "I hadn't recorded it, so I sat in this little room and played it for them, and by the end, we were all crying. It may sound hokey, but everybody who was there can testify to how magical the moment was."

She captures that magic just as beautifully on the studio version of "Be OK" -- every nuance of the vulnerability and the knowledge that it's possible to own one's broken parts and build upon them. That optimism -- free from guile, but without a trace of saccharine -- emerges on many of the previously unreleased originals that Michaelson unspools here. Take the disc-closing "You and I," a charmingly retro ditty on which she sings of reaching for the brass ring -- and her desire to "get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance."

Ingrid Michaelson began pursuing the latter goal before she toddled off to kindergarten, thanks to artistically-minded parents who encouraged her musical aspirations with piano lessons and a house filled with inspiration that went well beyond the trends of the time.

"I didn't grow up listening to the radio, I listened to my parents' records," she explains. "The Weavers, the Beatles and old musicals -- especially old musicals. Everyone else had a crush on one of the New Kids on the Block and I had a crush on Bing Crosby."

She put that fondness to good use, working her way through the classic songbook and absorbing classic covers like "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Over the Rainbow" -- both of which appear on Be OK. But rather than simply offer her take on well-loved material, Michaelson began penning her own songs during her stint in a touring company of "A Christmas Carol."

Michaelson didn't take long to make an impression with those compositions, as evidenced by the fact that she quickly won over a slew of professional peers -- who awarded her a top honor at Mountain Stage's prestigious NewSong Contest.

"That was a really cool feeling, because I really worked at my writing," she says. "As a younger person, I was super melody-driven, then somewhere along the way, I realized lyrics were just as important. I always knew when a song was catchy, but it took a while to realize when a song would really and truly resonate with people."

As she proves again and again on Be OK, Ingrid Michaelson has figured that out beyond the shadow of a doubt -- listen once and you'll be drawn in for a long, evocative ride.

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